1. كُنْ بالمدامة للسُّرور مُتَمِّما

    صفراءَ قبلَ المزج تحكي العَنْدَما

    Complete your joy with wine,

    yellow, yet resembling dragon's blood before mixing.

  2. شمسٌ إذا جُلِيَتْ بكفٍّ أطْلَعَتْ

    منها الحباب على الندامى أنجما

    A sun that, when unveiled in a palm, sends up

    its bubbles as stars above the drinking companions.

  3. هذي أُوَيْقات السرور فلا تَدَعْ

    فُرَصَ السرور من الزمان فربَّما

    These are brief moments of joy, so do not let slip

    the opportunities time offers for joy—for perhaps...

  4. أو ما ترى فصل الربيع وطيبه

    والزهر في الأكمام كيف تبسَّما

    And do you not see springtime and its delight,

    and how the blossoms smile within their bud-sheaths?

  5. وامزِج معتقةَ الدنان فإنَّني

    أهوى المزاج بريق معسول اللمى

    Mix the wine aged in jars, for I

    love a blend with the saliva of honey-sweet, dusky lips.

  6. ومهفهف الأعطاف يرنو لحظُه

    فإخاله يَسْتَلُّ سيفاً مخذما

    And a slender-flanked youth whose gaze lingers—

    I imagine him drawing a keen-edged sword.

  7. لولا محاسن جنَّةٍ في وجهه

    ما شاهد المشتاقُ فيه جهنّما

    Were it not for the beauties of paradise in his face,

    the yearning lover would not have seen hell in him.

  8. أو كانَ يمنحني زلال رضابه

    ما بتُّ أشكو من صبابته الظما

    Or had he granted me his limpid saliva,

    I would not have spent the night bewailing the thirst of longing for him.

  9. ويلاه من شرع الغرام من الَّذي

    جعلَ الوصالَ من الحبيب محرَّما

    Alas for love's law! Who is it

    that has forbidden union with the beloved?

  10. ولرب ليلٍ زارني في جنحه

    وعصى الوشاة به وخالف لوّما

    And many a night he visited me beneath its wing,

    defying the talebearers therein and opposing the reproachers.

  11. قصّيت أهنأ عيشة من وصْلِهِ

    حتَّى أنار صباحُهُ وتصرَّما

    I lived the happiest life in union with him,

    until its morning shone and the night came to an end.

  12. إنَّ العيون النُّجل أوْرَثْنَ الرَّدى

    قلبي وأرشَقْنَ الخواطر أسْهُما

    The wide eyes have bequeathed death

    to my heart, and shot arrows into my thoughts.

  13. وتوقُّد النيران في وجناته

    أوقَدْنَ في الأحشاء شوقاً مضرما

    And the fires blazing in his cheeks

    have kindled a burning longing in my entrails.

  14. أمعنِّفَ المشتاق في أشجانه

    إيَّاك تعذل بالهوى مستغربا

    O you who rebuke the yearning lover in his sorrows,

    beware of reproaching him, finding his passion strange.

  15. قد كانَ لي قلبٌ يطيعك بالهوى

    لكنّما سَلَبوه غزلان الحمى

    I once had a heart that would obey you in matters of love,

    but the gazelles of the preserve stole it away.

  16. وبمهجتي الظبي الغرير فإنَّني

    حكّمته في مهجتي فتحكّما

    My lifeblood be the innocent gazelle's ransom, for I

    gave him mastery over my lifeblood, and he took command.

  17. أهوى التشبب بالملاح ولم يزل

    قلبي بمحمود الفعال متيَّما

    I love singing of love for the fair, and always

    my heart is enthralled by the man of praiseworthy deeds.

  18. العالمُ المبدي العجاب بعلمه

    والمبهر الأفهام حيث تكلّما

    The scholar who reveals marvels through his knowledge,

    and dazzles minds wherever he speaks.

  19. تلقى الأنام عيال بيت علومه

    فترى قعوداً ترتجيه وقوّما

    You find mankind dependents of his house of learning;

    you see them seated, hoping in him, and standing.

  20. هذا تراه مُؤَمِّلاً يرجو الندى

    من راحتيه وذا أتى متعلّما

    This one you see expectant, hoping for generosity

    from his two palms; that one has come to learn.

  21. فيرد هذا فائزاً من فضله

    فيما يروم وذاك عنه معلما

    He sends this one back successful, through his bounty,

    in what he seeks, and that one instructed by him.

  22. لم ألْقَ أغْزَرَ نائلاً من كفِّهِ

    وأُرَقَّ قلباً بالضعيف وأرحما

    Never have I found a hand more lavish in gifts than his,

    nor a heart gentler toward the weak or more merciful.

  23. إنْ جئتَهُ بمسائلٍ ووسائلٍ

    أضحى لقصدك مكرماً أو مفهما

    If you come to him with questions and petitions,

    he responds to your purpose with honor or instruction.

  24. جمع المفاخر والمحامد كلها

    وأباد بالكرم المشوفَ المُعْلَما

    He has gathered every distinction and every virtue,

    and spent away the polished, stamped coin in generosity.

  25. ولكم أتيتُ لبابه في حاجة

    فوجَدْتُ ساحته الغنى والمغنما

    How often I have come to his door in need,

    and found his courtyard a source of wealth and gain.

  26. فقصدت أفْوَدَ من قَصَدْتُ من الورى

    وأتيتُ أبْرَكَ من أتيت ميمَّما

    Thus I sought the most bountiful of all mankind I had sought,

    and approached the most blessed of all I had made my destination.

  27. وأتيتُه فوجدْتُ حصناً مانعاً

    ووردته فرأيت بحراً قد طمى

    I came to him and found a protecting fortress;

    I came to his waters and saw a sea overflowing.

  28. كم قد أنال مُؤَمِّلاً من رِفْدهِ

    وأغاثَ ملهوفاً وأغنى معدما

    How often he has granted a hopeful seeker some of his bounty,

    rescued the distressed, and enriched the destitute.

  29. وشهدْتُ قرماً بالكمال متَوَّجاً

    ورأيت ليثاً بالفخار معمّما

    I have witnessed a noble chief crowned with perfection,

    and seen a lion turbaned with glory.

  30. بطلٌ أعزَّ الجارَ في إكرامه

    وأهانَ في كرمِ اليمين الدرهما

    A hero who exalted his neighbor through his hospitality,

    and scorned the dirham in his right hand's generosity.

  31. بأبي فتىً مذ كانَ طفلاً راضعاً

    فاضت أناملُ راحتيه تكرُّما

    My father be ransom for a youth: since he was a suckling child,

    the fingers of his two hands have overflowed with generosity.

  32. شادت فضائله مقاماً في العلى

    سامٍ على طول المدى لن يُهْدَما

    His virtues built him a station in the heights,

    lofty through all time, never to be demolished.

  33. متبسمٌ للوافدين لبابه

    والغيث إنْ قَصَد الهُطولَ تبَسَّما

    He smiles at those who come to his door;

    and the rain smiles when it intends to pour.

  34. ما فاض نائله وفاض بعلمه

    إلاَّ التقطَتْ الدُّرَّ منه توأما

    Whenever his gifts flowed and he poured forth his learning,

    pearls were gathered from him in pairs.

  35. كم مشكلات أُوضِحَتْ بذكائه

    وأبانَ في تقريره ما أبهما

    How many difficult questions his intelligence has clarified,

    and he has made clear in his exposition what was obscure.

  36. ما زال مذ شم النسيم حلاحلاً

    أمسى بحب الفضل صباً مغرما

    Ever since he first breathed the breeze, he has been a mighty chief;

    he became a passionate lover, enamored of excellence.

  37. يعزى إلى بيت الرسول محمد

    والى النبيّ الهاشميّ إذا انتمى

    His lineage is traced to the household of the Messenger, Muhammad,

    and to the Hashemite Prophet when he declares his descent.

  38. يوم النوال يكون بحراً زاخراً

    ولدى العلوم تراه حَبْراً مفعما

    On the day of giving he is a surging sea,

    and in the sciences you see him a scholar filled to the brim.

  39. قسراً على كيد المعاند قد علا

    وبرغم أنفِ الحاسدين لقد سما

    In defiance of the obstinate foe's schemes, he has risen,

    and despite the envious, he has soared.

  40. الله أوْدَعَ في سريرة ذاته

    من قبل هذا جوهراً لن يقسما

    God placed within the secret depths of his being,

    before this, a jewel that will never be divided.

  41. قل للذي يبغي وصول كماله

    هيهات إنَّك لست من يصل السما

    Tell the one who seeks to attain his perfection:

    Far from it! You are not one who can reach the sky.

  42. أحلى من العسل الجنيّ فكاهة

    وتراه يوم الجد مرًّا علقما

    His wit is sweeter than freshly gathered honey,

    but on the day of serious business you find him bitter as colocynth.

  43. مثل الأُسود الضاريات إذا سطا

    والمرسلات الذاريات إذا همى

    Like ravening lions when he strikes,

    and like the winds sent forth to scatter when he showers bounty.

  44. كم راح زنديق يروم نزاله

    فرأى سيوف الحق عنه فأحجما

    How many a heretic has set out seeking combat with him,

    then seen truth's swords defending him and recoiled.

  45. وأتى عليه بكلّ برهان بدا

    لو كانَ في جنح الدجى ما أظلما

    He overwhelmed him with every manifest proof,

    which would not darken even beneath the wing of deepest night.

  46. فهو الَّذي نهدى به في ديننا

    ونرى طريق الرشد فيه من العمى

    He is the one through whom we are guided in our faith,

    and in him we see the path of right guidance out of blindness.

  47. يا سيّداً حاز العلوم بأسرها

    حتَّى غدا عَلَمَ الأنام وأعلما

    O master who has gained all the sciences,

    until he became mankind's banner and its most learned man.

  48. فليهنك المجدُ الَّذي بُلِّغْتَه

    لو أنْصفوك لكنتَ فيه مقدّما

    May the glory you have been granted bring you joy;

    had they treated you justly, you would have been foremost in it.

  49. فلقد بلغت اليوم أرفعَ منصب

    أضحى على أعدائك فيه مأتما

    For today you have reached the highest office,

    which has become a place of mourning for your enemies.

  50. ما نلت إلاَّ ما جنابك أهْلُهُ

    فابقَ على أبدِ الزمان مكرَّما

    You have attained only what your noble self deserves;

    so remain honored throughout all eternity.

  51. واسأل ودادَك من جوانح أخرس

    لو كانَ يستطيع الكلام تكلَّما

    And ask the breast of Akhras—the mute—for its love of you:

    if he could speak, he would speak.